City of Strangers: The Godsmouth Heresy

Game Master James Keegan


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Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Here is the character generation/ooc discussion thread for the game. I'll give you all a choice for ability scores: either 20 point buy or we roll 4d6 through the die roller and discard the lowest six times. If we roll, you must use your rolls unless you get all 5s, 3s, etc. Everyone uses the same method, so we need to vote on it.

Hook: all of you have been asked/forced to work with the clergy of Pharasma in the Bottoms district to discretely look into some disturbances in the ossuary below the cathedral. Perhaps you are a member of the congregation, but you need not be affiliated with the church: the faction you belong to may have loaned you out as a favor, perhaps the Pharasmins provided much needed healing in exchange for future services, etc.

I can offer more info on the neighborhoods and factions of Kaer Maga if you need it as well as help with backgrounds as you like.

Dark Archive

male human

I think I'm going to go with the aspiring bloat mage here. My personal preference would be for the 20 point buy, but will go as the group votes.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

I'm also happy with point buy but it isn't a big deal to me. I'll go either way. I've been wanting to play a ranger archer recently if that fits in with everyone else.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

It will be 95% dungeon starting out, if things go well and we expand to a full campaign then urban and subterranean sections will come in too. So a ranger or druid focused for those environments will do well. I would say only halflings or gnomes could really be mounted combatants since it will mostly take place in confined spaces.

For rangers, a Duskwarden would be a good fit or one of the Freemen of the Bottoms district. Or of course a complete independent.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

Sounds good. I'll probably take a look at some of the APG variants if that's okay. Also, I own City of Strangers, but haven't read it yet. Should I check it out or would there be too many spoilers?

Dark Archive

male human

I own it also, and have read it. Fantastic book; one of the best of the Campaign Setting line, IMO. James would know for sure, since he has the adventure, but I don't get the impression there's all that much spoiler-type material in it; in fact, I'd probably say it gives a great idea and flavor of what the city's like.

James - Are we allowed the standard books here - Core & APG? Any of the Campaign Setting or Companion books?


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Well, I'm not sure yet how much will be worked in. If you want to preserve the surprise and sense of discovery, maybe hold off on delving into the history and dungeons and such. But it is a great book, so it's up to you how much you want to read it.

Grand Lodge

Point buy sounds good to me. I was also thinking of a mounted archer ranger, but I'm pretty flexible, so I'll see what other people are thinking before I start creation. Definitely some kind of ride-oriented halfling, though...


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5
Bryan wrote:

I own it also, and have read it. Fantastic book; one of the best of the Campaign Setting line, IMO. James would know for sure, since he has the adventure, but I don't get the impression there's all that much spoiler-type material in it; in fact, I'd probably say it gives a great idea and flavor of what the city's like.

James - Are we allowed the standard books here - Core & APG? Any of the Campaign Setting or Companion books?

Only the premise of the adventure is in the sourcebook, so no worries on immediate spoilage. Stuff outside of core and APG is on a case by case basis; tell what you're looking at and I'll think about it.

Dark Archive

male human

Don't really have anything in mind, other than the Bloatmage Initiate feat (from City of Strangers). Just was curious what we could use.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10
Jelloarm wrote:
Point buy sounds good to me. I was also thinking of a mounted archer ranger, but I'm pretty flexible, so I'll see what other people are thinking before I start creation. Definitely some kind of ride-oriented halfling, though...

Great minds think alike I suppose. I was also thinking about a ranger/archer (not mounted). I'd still like to do a ranger, but I could go Melee.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

I was going to suggest a cavalier, but they're pretty melée/charge focused. I guess ranger, fighter or even druid are the best options depending on your priorities. Or a paladin, but that's a rough choice in Kaer Maga.

The Exchange

Good luck with this, James. The City of Strangers is a fun place to adventure from what I have read.

Cheers


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

So, my initial thoughts are a half orc ranger with the skirmisher and urban ranger archetypes, if that's cool.

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5

Point buy or dice rolling are ok with me. Happy to go with point buy if that is the trend (particularly as the dice roller here has not been that good to me lately!).

Character-wise I will probably either go for a cleric of Pharasma or a melee based fighter (re-hashing Mal from the Explorers of the Inner Sea campaign as it looks like that one is probably dead in the water at this stage). I will think on it and see what others are playing.

James, I don’t have the City of Strangers book, have been seriously thinking of getting it ... if it’s recommended reading I’ll do so.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

Okay, can't resist, I'm reading bits of City of Strangers. Duskwardens look really cool.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

I highly recommend City of Strangers; I really think it's a perfect city book as well as an awesome location in the setting. There are so many cool ideas waiting to be fleshed out, great locations and strange neighborhoods and people that you wouldn't find in other books.

Jam412- no problem with that at all, though if you want to be a Duskwarden I would hesitate on taking urban ranger just because the favored terrain (dungeon) and (urban) seems like a handy thing for that type of character. Though, honestly, the favored community is just a more narrow version of favored terrain. So if you want urban ranger, we can just reskin it "Duskwarden" and re-introduce favored terrain as is, just limiting it to underground or urban areas.

Bryan- Yeah, you can certainly take Bloatmage Initiate and I'll seriously consider anything else you like. That goes for everyone.

It looks like 20 point buy has won out, so we can use that. I would like you to roll for starting gp along the equipment guidelines.

Dark Archive

male human

starting gold 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7 x10 = 70gp

law of averages wins out

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5

Probably a silly question, but are we starting at first level for this game?

Alright, you’ve pretty well convinced me on City of Strangers. Unfortunately this month’s AP subscription just shipped yesterday, so if I want to combine shipping it will probably be late February before I can get this in my hot little hands (I prefer hard copies to PDFs).


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Yes indeed, first level it is.


Thanks for including me in this! I'll get cracking on my inquisitor.

Starting gold: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 1, 5) = 15 x10 = 150 gp


Yay. Thanks for including me. On-call today, I'll get an oracle up soon.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

Dice! 5d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 1, 4) = 13X10 =130

I had a hard time getting this post to stick.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Yeah, I had problems in our other game. Whole update devoured by Yog-Sothoth!

Take as long as you need guys, we have a couple of weeks before I'm ready to get the actual game rolling.

Grand Lodge

Hey, sorry about the unexpected absence - it's been a really crazy couple of days here (evidently now I'm a sleepwalker!) and now I have friends from out of town visiting.

When things quiet down, I think I'm going to make a Wolf Shaman druid, focusing on riding the wolf animal companion. So in terms of party make-up...

Jam412's Half-orc ranger
Max's Inquisitor
Randall's Oracle
Mothman's Cleric or Fighter
Bryan's bloatmage? What class is this going to be?
and one halfling druid.

Dark Archive

male human
Jelloarm wrote:

Hey, sorry about the unexpected absence - it's been a really crazy couple of days here (evidently now I'm a sleepwalker!) and now I have friends from out of town visiting.

When things quiet down, I think I'm going to make a Wolf Shaman druid, focusing on riding the wolf animal companion. So in terms of party make-up...

Jam412's Half-orc ranger
Max's Inquisitor
Randall's Oracle
Mothman's Cleric or Fighter
Bryan's bloatmage? What class is this going to be?
and one halfling druid.

My bloatmage will be a wizard, most likely. I was tossing around the idea of a witch or sorcerer, but in the end I decided to basically re-purpose a character from a defunct PbP who was an evoker ...


Gold-roll=3d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 3) = 7 x 10 = 70gp
Ach!


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

We aren't using traits, right?


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

That's right, no traits.

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5
Jam412 wrote:
We aren't using traits, right?

Jam, is your ranger likley to be melee based?

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5

It looks as though we might have a fair few divine casters, some decent combat ability and an arcane caster.

I am happy to consider switching to a rogue type character if the general consensus is that the group could benefit from one. Chances are I would concentrate on trap finding / springing rather than a combat rogue in this case.

EDIT: I'm really not sure at this stage, haven't really settled on a solid concept for this game yet ... am not completely discarding the ideas of cleric or fighter yet.

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5

Also, how, if at all, were people thinking their characters might be associated with the Church of Pharasma (or ... what’s your hook)?


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10
Mothman wrote:
Jam412 wrote:
We aren't using traits, right?
Jam, is your ranger likley to be melee based?

Yup! I'm considering going for the two handed style and using a great axe. Also, I'm doing the urban ranger archetype so I'll have access to trap finding at 3rd level and disable device is a class skill for me.

I won't be nearly as good at those things as your rogue will be, but just so you know, you've got some backup. ;-)

Dark Archive

male human
Mothman wrote:
Also, how, if at all, were people thinking their characters might be associated with the Church of Pharasma (or ... what’s your hook)?

Not entirely sure yet, but I was heading towards the "on loan" route. I wasn't looking at him as a worshipper of Pharasma.


I'm picturing my character as someone that the clergy of Pharasma has called in to look into the disturbances in the ossuary below the cathedral. While not a worshipper of Pharasma, my inquisitor of Sarenrae is something of a hunter of undead, and agrees with the Pharasmin view that it is a holy duty to put undead to rest (I'm assuming that the 'disturbances in the ossuary below the cathedral' involve undead).


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Yes, bodies are going missing in the Ossuary and they need some discrete help
lest anyone find out. Naturally, they suspect the undead and they can't trust their own people.


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10
Mothman wrote:
Also, how, if at all, were people thinking their characters might be associated with the Church of Pharasma (or ... what’s your hook)?

Well, my ranger is going to be a Duskwarden. They are a faction that hunts down beasties in the tunnels below Kaer Magga. I'm assuming the Pharasman church will have petitioned them for aid in this matter.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

The Duskwardens have made it their ongoing duty to map out the levels below Kaer Maga. The Church of Pharasma has long resisted opening the Ossuary to them for this, but now that they need help they've made an exchange- send someone in to help and while they're there they are allowed to make maps for the Duskwarden's records.

Dark Archive

male human

James,

Would this work for my wizard? Summary:

Spoiler:
originally from Cheliax, heard of hemotheurgy there and had to leave hastily because his family (minor nobility) discovered a few experiments he conducted along those lines (animals, not people, but still embarrassing), so he went to the source: Kaer Maga. Having been there a few years, he finally was able to find an established bloatmage to teach him. The master happened to be an expert on the undead, and was contacted for help from the Church of Pharasma. Not wishing to be bothered, he sent his apprentice instead.

Liberty's Edge

Male Mothman Expert 5

Alright, having given it some further thought last night, I am tending strongly towards going with my original idea of playing a cleric of Pharasma.

As such ... 4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 3) = 12 x 10 = 120gp.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5
Bryan wrote:

James,

Would this work for my wizard? Summary: ** spoiler omitted **

Bryan:

Spoiler:
My only issue is that there may well be too many undead experts around as it is- what if your teacher had consulted with the Pharasmans for their medical knowledge of the lymph system? Morticians likely have the best knowledge of the body out of everyone and could likely have provided lots of insight to advance the research into hemotheurgy.

Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

Hmmm.. I was going to have my favored enemy be undead. Should I switch it and if so, do you have any suggestions?


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Well, it looks like many of you are geared against undead. So it's up to you if you want to continue with that. Humans and aberrations are good alternatives for a Duskwarden, as are vermin.

Dark Archive

male human
James Keegan wrote:
Bryan wrote:

James,

Would this work for my wizard? Summary: ** spoiler omitted **

Bryan: ** spoiler omitted **

Works for me!


Mutated Animal Turtle Smasher 10

Okay, cool. I'll probably go human but I'm gonna think it over a bit.

I think that will change my background flavor a bit, but not in a bad way. Well, bad for humans, I suppose... ;-)

Grand Lodge

Jeez are the rules for animal companions a hassle.

Just bumping this to let y'all know that I'm still alive and working.

Are we doing full hit points for the first HD? Does that apply to animal companions too? They get 2 HD at first level, so it would be either 2d8+4 or 1d8+12.

And starting gold: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) = 7 equals 70 gp to start.


Male(s) 27 Ducks in a James suit Duck 27/ Expert 5

Max hp at first level, which extends to the animal companion- so 1d8+12 including first HD and Con bonus.

And what were you thinking about for a background? An escaped slave gone feral might work; you could have ties to the Freemen in the Bottoms. There are also halfling communities clustered around the city, some even inter-marrying with humans.

Grand Lodge

Considering an escaped slave from a Chelaxian performing troupe, come to the city for it's famous anarchy and freedoms. Joined up with the Freemen once in the city, for protection from any that may seek to reclaim him or the wolf that he stole.

Loose plan, clearly, but it's coming.

Wolf HP - 1d8 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20


I've started putting together my cleric of Pharasma, this is probably the avatar I will use.

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